


Getting Rid of Monochrome

by darkness_prince_dan



Series: Song based drabbles [8]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drabble, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-19 00:11:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4725455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkness_prince_dan/pseuds/darkness_prince_dan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan's world is monochrome and boring. Phil paints it with colours Dan never knew existed.<br/>A short drabble based on the song 'Lost Boy' by Ruth B.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Getting Rid of Monochrome

Stargazing is one of Dan’s favourite pastimes. He’s glad he lives in the countryside where the absence of light pollution allows him to actually see the stars. Lying on the ground on an August night when stars burn brightest, he thinks that the world is monochrome and dull. All the books he reads are filled with magic and adventures which don’t exist in reality. He wonders if other worlds out there, beyond the stars, have the magic.

The field behind his house merges into the woods a few miles away, he’s got neighbours on either side, there aren’t any fences and anyone could come up to him but no one disturbs his peace. The summer breeze ghosts over him and the tall grass where he lies. Putting his hands behind his head, Dan hums a tune tracing the constellations with his eyes.

“That’s a sad song,” he hears a whisper and rests on his elbow staring at the boy standing over him.

Phil, he thinks is the boy’s name. Dan’s seen him earlier, his family moved in a week or so ago. Dan’s mother pestered him about befriending the boy but Dan just rolled his eyes.

“I like it,” Dan shrugs a shoulder and lies back down.

The blue-eyed boy doesn’t even ask for permission and joins him. Dan narrows his eyes at his profile and moves an inch away.

“It’s nice,” Phil whispers. “You can never see the stars in the city.”

“I know,” Dan mutters annoyed. How dare this boy ruin one of the best nights for Dan?

“You don’t like me,” Phil says matter-of-factly. “But you don’t even know me. That’s a bit shit, don’t you think?”

Dan bites his lip. It is shit when he thinks about it and he’s not usually like this, guilt nips on his heart.

“Sorry,” he murmurs.

Phil just shrugs and asks Dan if he believes in aliens.

They become inseparable soon. Phil paints Dan’s world with colours he never knew existed. Dan admires Phil, his ability to think outside the box, question anything and everything, come up with the most unexpected answers. Reality no longer exists for Dan, he likes living in the dream world with Phil. They fight dragons in the woods, find UFOs in the sky at night, talk to mermaids residing in a lake nearby. As they grow up, their dreams change. They begin wondering where they’ll go to uni, what they’ll do after finishing it, whether they could be more than friends.

Reality hits them hard and monochrome leaks back into Dan’s life. Living together, working together, going to the same university proves to be more stressful than they thought. Fights between them brake out more than usual. The quality of Phil’s Dan loved the most now starts irritating him. Phil forgets to buy groceries one day because he was too immersed in his writing so they’re left without breakfast. Dan asks Phil to pay the bills, Phil hums acknowledging him whilst he’s reading, next month they get their electricity cut off. They’re saving up for decent furniture and Phil spends it all on a dog he saw at a pet shop and couldn’t resist buying. After that Dan has enough. He asks Phil when he’ll grow up and stop living in his head not paying attention to real problems they’re facing. Phil asks him when Dan will stop being such a pessimist seeing the world only in black and white, never living in the now and always worrying about the future. Dan sleeps on the couch the following week, they don’t talk.

Phil returns the dog and stocks up the fridge sticking a post-it on it and writing ‘sorry’. Dan takes him on a spontaneous date in the middle of the night when they both have classes together the next morning. They sit on the hood of a rented car parked somewhere on a cliff, enjoying the view and the blinking stars. Phil puts his head on Dan’s shoulder and Dan hugs him close to himself. They dye the night with stories about the origin of constellations and the universe. Colours gingerly seep back into Dan’s life when all else drowns in the reality of black.


End file.
